Michael fitzGerald
The largely harmless purveyor of computer advice to the old and impatient

August 27, 2007

Shrek versus Spiderman

I love this headline. It is from the Sunday Telegraph, a UK newspaper and the article by Roya Nikkhah here describes the rivalry between the incompatible HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats ( see why it needs a catchy headline)

Same old story - two technical solutions but only one market.

There are, of course, lots of carefully crafted technical arguments as to which is the better. ( A google search shows aprox. 50 million hits for Blu Ray and 74 million for HD-DVD). What the IT industry and IT journalists fail to realise is that customers aren't interested in detailed specifications they just want to be able to play their Shrek or Spiderman movies. But "remember BetaMax" the salesmen cry - "you must choose the right format now while prices are high and there is a limited number of expensive DVDs available"

The real risk to the salesman is that consumers will effectively outsource their choice of hardware by renting their HD movies on-line leaving it to their provider to make sure that they have the technology for both Shrek and Spiderman